TOP OF THE SIXTH

If you caught a record-breaking 62nd home run ball off the bat of Mark McGwire or Sammy Sosa, what would you do?

Hand it over to the slugger in a monumental act of sportsmanship? Or take the money and run? (Note to those contemplating Option No. 1, the ball could be worth more than $1 million to frenzied collectors.)

Bill Plaschke of the Los Angeles Times says that if he caught the ball, he would donate it to the Hall of Fame on the condition that the ball must first go on a national tour.

"Baseball must let teenagers play catch with it, old men take pictures of it, sick children cradle it," says Plaschke.

And if baseball and the Hall of Fame refuse? "Then," says Plaschke. "I'm giving it to Pete Rose. Let them deal with him." HITTING THE BOOKS: Andy Katzenmoyer, Ohio State's All-America linebacker, needs to pass summer-school courses in music appreciation, golf and AIDS awareness to maintain his eligibility. His course "load" reminded Arizona Republic columnist David Casstevens that when Abe Lemons was coaching basketball at Oklahoma City, he said he instructed five players to enroll in basket-weaving. Four of them flunked. -- It's the Giants' turn to hold Beanie Baby Day on Sunday against the Phillies; the club will give away 10,000 Babies. Such promotions have been wildly successful in baseball this year. The smallest Beanie Baby crowd in the major leagues was 31,000 in Cincinnati. One woman called the Reds' offices, said she was pregnant with her first child and threatened a lawsuit if she didn't get a Beanie Baby. -- "The roof over the Arizona Diamondbacks' $354 million Bank One Ballpark leaks," says Jerry Perisho. "Around the league it's known as the Kenneth Starr of domed stadiums." KING'S RANSOM: Chris Webber of the Sacramento Kings paid a fine after 11 grams of marijuana were found concealed in a sock in a carry-on bag at the San Juan, Puerto Rico, airport. Webber said the bag really belonged to a female companion. Karen Crouse of the Los Angeles Daily News says the woman must have been "one with very large feet, judging by the size-16 sneakers that were among the bag's contents." -- Colorado safety Ryan Chiaverini, asked to suggest rule changes in football, proposed this one: "Defensive players could use any means of tackling, i.e. face-masking, leg whipping, minor explosives." -- According to Steve Rushin of Sports Illustrated, the Dodgers' Bobby Bonilla "looks less comfortable donning a glove than anyone since